Leader Spotlight

Ann Lee (Young Leader 2012)

What can the Swiss learn from the Americans?
Gangnam style dancing...oh wait, that's from the Koreans...let me get back to you on that.

What defines your leadership style?
Finding humor in tough situations to keep my sanity and life in perspective.

What quality do you most admire in a person?
Authenticity

Where do you live?
On a plane

Where are you from?
Planet earth

Who are your favorite characters in history or fiction?
Julius Caesar, Jeff Lebowski (otherwise known as "The Dude") and Jim Carrey

What is your greatest weakness?
Croissants

What is your favorite food?
Any haute cuisine

Your favorite leisure activities?
Eating, drinking, and sleeping

What natural gift would you most like to possess?
Psychic powers

About Ann Lee

Ann Lee is a former investment banker and hedge fund partner, as well as the author of What the U.S. Can Learn from China: An Open-Minded Guide to Treating Our Greatest Competitor as Our Greatest Teacher. She is an adjunct professor of economics and finance at New York University and a frequent media commentator on global economic issues, finance, and U.S.-China relations. In addition to television and radio appearances on MSNBC, Bloomberg, ABC, CBS, CNN, CNBC, Fox Business, and NPR, her op-eds have appeared in such publications as The New York Times, The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Businessweek, Forbes, Harvard Business Review, The American Prospect, and The American Banker.

Ann was a visiting professor at Peking University where she taught macroeconomics and financial derivatives. While teaching at Peking University, she also acted as an economic adviser to Chinese economic officials, as well as to several large Chinese asset management firms. She was educated at U.C. Berkeley, Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of International Affairs, and Harvard Business School.